Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Peer Vs. Professional: Assessing The Communicative Experience Of Student Orientation Leaders, Casey M. Ford

Honors Theses

Current literature reveals that peer-leadership is valuable and integral within institutions of higher learning. While extensive research reveals how peer-leaders benefit the overall student experience and contribute to institutional recruitment and retention, (Tinto, 2012) little research has considered the actual experience of student peer-leaders. The current study considers the communicative challenges and triumphs student orientation leaders encounter in their roles as students and university ambassadors. During a university’s new student orientation, student orientation leaders function as both student leaders and university professionals; they serve as liaisons between students, their parents and families, and the university they represent, often working as …

Targeted Advertising Can Increase Healthy Food Choices Among College Students, Stephanie Spera

Population Health Research Brief Series

Poor nutrition in young adulthood can increase risk of obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes in mid- and later life. Targeted nutrition programs for young adults are essential to reduce the burden of chronic disease in the U.S. over the next several decades. This research brief describes a successful healthy food marketing strategy that was used at Syracuse University to promote healthy food purchasing among college students.

Unseen And Unheard: Exploring The Mental Health Of Mostly Heterosexual College Students, Shannon Pendleton

Lyle S. Hallman Social Work Theses and Dissertations

College years have long been understood to be a difficult yet important developmental period in an individual’s life, which may be particularly challenging for sexual minority students who tend to face discrimination on campus, which can undermine their mental health. Research in both college student and non-college student samples has shown that mostly heterosexual is a distinct sexual orientation. However, little is known about the wellbeing of individuals, including college students, who identify as mostly heterosexual. Moreover, among college students, little is known about the intersections between a mostly heterosexual identity and mental health. This study examined the association between …

Mental Health First Aid Training For College Students: Evaluation Of Effects On Students’ Knowledge And Responses To Mental Health Issues In Their Peers, Erica Sandtorv

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Background

Mental health literacy, or the public’s knowledge and beliefs about mental health, has been shown to be lacking; therefore, the proper first aid actions are not always taken to recognize and encourage treatment for psychological disorders. This issue is particularly relevant in a university setting where mental health issues are common and students often rely on their peers for support. Studies have shown mental health first aid (MFHA) training to be successful in equipping people with the skills they need to help others in acute mental health crises.

Methods

To assess the efficacy of a brief mental MHFA training …

Pre-Test Processing Differences Of Test-Anxious Students, Michelle Garcia

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

The purpose of this study is to investigate the differences in persons with test anxiety (TA) compared to those without test anxiety to examine pre-test processing differences, specifically in terms of test preparation and study methods. This research is important to many individuals, as testing is a large part of education, and performance may affect a person's future opportunities. Further understanding of pre-testing differences in study methods of test-anxious students may lead to possible interventions to improve performance of those who experience TA. The research will collect data from 30 participants who will be administered the Cognitive Test Anxiety Inventory …

Substance Use Prevention: Communication And Strategies To Reduce Alcohol, Marijuana, And E-Cigarette Use Among College Students, Emily Bauer

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

Substance use among college students impacts universities, communities and student outcomes across the United States. Based on the Monitoring the Future study (MTF), college students have a higher prevalence of past 30-day alcohol use at 63% than their non-college peers (59%) (2016). Nearly one-third of college students (32%) have had five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks (2016). Monthly marijuana use for college students has remained steady at 22% (2016). Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use is 6.9%, which is gaining in popularity but still lower than traditional cigarettes (8.9%) (2016). There are many prevention communication strategies …

A Pilot Study: Identifying The Characteristics Of Postsecondary Offices Of Disability Services Associated With High Graduation Rates, Tiffany B. White

Dissertations

Students with disabilities are entering postsecondary education at higher rates than ever before, but they are graduating at lower rates than their peers without disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act have made it possible for students with disabilities to avail themselves of services in higher education to maximize their potential. To implement laws and provide equal access to students with disclosed disabilities (SWDD), many higher education institutions use central offices to serve students with disabilities. The survey in this study collects information from disability office directors regarding services provided and office characteristics.

The …

Targeting Perceived Risk Through An Online Personalized Feedback Intervention For Cannabis-Using College Students, Katherine Walukevich-Dienst

LSU Master's Theses

Although online personalized feedback interventions (PFIs) that include personalized normative feedback (PNF) have been found to reduce drinking in college populations (for review, see Miller et al., 2013), there is little evidence to support that similar PFIs reduce risky cannabis use in college students (e.g., Elliott, Carey, & Vanable, 2014). The present study sought to examine perceived risk, a leading indicator of cannabis use (Bachman, Johnston, & O'Malley, 1998), as a potential intervention target for online cannabis PFIs. Undergraduate students who reported current (past-month) cannabis use and experiencing at least one past three-month cannabis use-related problem were randomly assigned to …

The Role Of Perceived Academic Control, Preoccupation With Failure, And Academic Emotions On Major Satisfaction, Alison N. Lehman

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reports the results of a study exploring how preoccupation with failure, perceived academic control, and academic emotions are associated with students’ major satisfaction. The responses of 391 college students to an online survey revealed that positive emotions and perceived academic control were significantly related to major satisfaction. Even after controlling for the variables of year in school, interests overlap, preoccupation with failure, and positive and negative emotions, academic control and academic emotions still explained a significant proportion of the variance in major satisfaction, which provides counselors and college professors possible intervention points to target major satisfaction. Contrary to …

The Relationship Between Student Admissions Data And Six-Year Degree Completion, Catherine W. Shoulders, Leslie D. Edgar, Donald M. Johnson

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

This study examined the six-year bachelor’s degree graduation status of freshmen (N = 1,839) entering the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences (AFLS) between 2001 and 2010. The overall graduation rate was 64%, including 23% who had transferred out of AFLS. Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine if student entry data differentiated between graduates and non-graduates and between AFLS and non-AFLS graduates. High school GPA (HSGPA), first-generation status, and year of admission to the university significantly differentiated between graduates and non-graduates. Each standard deviation increase in HSGPA was associated with a 224% increase in the relative …

Sport Management Clubs And Their Relationship To Sport Management Student Success, Keith Christy, Erica J. Zonder, Emily J. Houghton, Brenda A. Riemer

Human Performance Department Publications

Participation in student-led sport management clubs can be beneficial for college students who are pursing sport management careers. These clubs can help give students the development and networking tools needed for success in the sport industry.

The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the role and benefits of sport management clubs at three universities across three NCAA divisions, with a focus on networking, fundraising, event planning, and professional development.

Our discussion will also include specific events that our students have completed as well as how the clubs provide students with opportunities to develop the skills and abilities to succeed …

An Exploration Of Racial/Ethnic Differences In The Association Between Perfectionism And Disordered Eating In College Students, Neha J. Goel, C Blair Burnette, Suzanne E. Mazzeo

Graduate Research Posters

Perfectionism is a robust risk factor for eating disorders (EDs). Although individually-oriented dimensions of perfectionism are strongly related to eating pathology, less is known about the contribution of parent-oriented dimensions, specifically parental expectations (PE) and parental criticisms (PC). Further, few studies have investigated these effects within racially/ethnically diverse samples. However, PE and PC might be particularly relevant to eating pathology among certain cultural groups, such as those from collectivistic and interdependent societies. This study examined associations among PE, PC, and ED symptoms across racial/ethnic groups. Undergraduates (N=706; 74.8% Female; 48% White, 19.8% Black, 7.1% Latinx, 16% Asian, 9.1% …

Personal And Educational Differences In College Students’ Attitudes Toward Social Justice, Michael Di Bianca B.A., Perrin Robinson M.S., Mary Jo Coiro Ph.D

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

Many colleges and universities encourage students to engage with social justice issues in their education and career discernment. However, a variety of individual attributes and life experiences may predict how college students develop an awareness of and attitudes toward social justice, perhaps including ways in which students relate to their own challenging life experiences and encounter others’ experiences of injustice. This study explored the relationship between individual attributes, educational experiences and social justice attitudes among a sample of 347 college students who completed self-report surveys. Specifically, this study examined a) help-seeking attitudes, b) self-compassion, c) prior experience receiving mental health …

Gender Inclusivity And Discrimination On College Campuses: Focusing On Gender Nonconforming Students, Mariah Palmer

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

Previous research reveals that transgender individuals suffer with greater mental health concerns than cisgender individuals (Borgogna, McDermott, Aita, & Kridel, 2018). Moreover, transgender and gender nonconforming students are experiencing more difficultly in college than their cisgender peers. The data show that transgender students experience greater levels of trauma, stressors in life, harassment, and discrimination (Greathouse et al., 2018; James et al., 2016; Swanbrow Becker et al., 2017). Further, James et al., (2016) found that the climate on campus has led some transgender students to drop out of their higher education institute. The current research examined both transgender or gender nonconforming …

An Evaluation Of Individual And Group Behavioral Skills Training To Teach Members Of Greek Letter Organizations To Free-Pour Standards Of Alcohol, Meagan Anne Strickland

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

College students engage in high levels of excessive drinking and certain subpopulations of college students, such as members of Greek Letter Organizations (GLOs) report higher levels of excessive alcohol consumptions. Those who report less excessive drinking also report counting their drinks and setting drink limits. However, the effectiveness of these strategies may be improved by the ability to accurately identify and pour standard servings of alcohol, an area in which college students’ knowledge is generally quite poor. Although individual behavioral skills training (BST) has been used to teach college students to accurately pour beer (Hankla et al., 2017), little is …

Nonmedical Use Of Prescription Drugs Among Young Adults: An Examination Of Anxiety Sensitivity, Distress Tolerance, And Emotion-Driven Impulse Control Difficulties, Sara Michelle Witcraft

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with anxiety disorders are significantly more likely to develop substance use disorders than those without anxiety disorders (Kessler & Greenberg, 2002). Despite a sizeable body of literature focused on etiological and maintenance factors underlying the co-occurrence of substance use and anxiety pathology, this relationship remains poorly understood. Transdiagnostic factors, specifically distress tolerance, anxiety sensitivity, and emotion-driven impulse control difficulties, have been posited to contribute to the relationship of anxiety and substance abuse, and in particular, nonmedical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD; Dennhardt & Murphy, 2013; Wolitzky-Taylor et al., 2015). The current study examined group differences among the aforementioned transdiagnostic …

Effects Of Diagnostic Labels On College Students' Perceptions Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sarah Grace Cowell

Honors Theses

The Center for Disease Control reports current research that indicates 1 in every 68 children in the United States has the diagnostic label of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Research literature of the past 20 years has warned of the possible dangers of labels, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, and the potentially negative impact these labels can have on an individual throughout a lifetime.

This project investigates college students' perceptions of the label Autism Spectrum Disorder in regard to a child's educational potential and later employment. College students viewed a four-minute video of a child in solitary play. One-half of the participants …

Multivariate Relationships Of Binge Watching-Drinking-Eating With Depression, Anxiety, And Stress In College Students, Katina Letrice Clarke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Binge eating and drinking have been studied with respect to stress, anxiety, and depression, but little is known about the emerging phenomenon of binge watching television programming. Guided by escape theory and the uses and gratification theory, this cross-sectional, correlational study addressed multivariate relations of binge drinking, binge eating, and binge watching with depression, anxiety, and stress among 102 college students ages 18 to 24. Multivariate canonical correlation results revealed that participants with low anxiety scores tended to have low scores on binge eating and drinking but high scores on binge watching. Participants with low stress scores and high anxiety …

Mental Health Outcomes Of Discrimination Among College Students On A Predominately White Campus: A Prospective Study, Joseph C. Jochman, Jacob E. Cheadle, Bridget J. Goosby, Cara Tomaso, Chelsea Kozikowski, Timothy Nelson

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Racial discrimination is a social stressor harmful to mental health. In this paper, we explore the links between mental health and interpersonal discrimination-related social events, exposure to vicarious racism via social media, and rumination on racial injustices using a daily diary design. We utilize data from a racially diverse sample of 149 college students with 1,489 unique time observations at a large, predominantly white university. Results show that interpersonal discrimination-related social events predicted greater self-reported anger, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and loneliness both daily and on average over time. Vicarious racism from day to day was associated with increased anxiety symptoms. …

Classification Of Major Depression In College Students : A Grade Of Membership Analysis, Ishani Ravindra Deo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The disease burden of major depressive disorder is at its greatest among college-aged individuals, and frequently leads to long-term negative outcomes. However, within and across racial/ethnic groups, there are significant differences in how the disorder manifests and the resulting impact. Conceptualizing depression in a way that accurately reflects this variation is therefore a crucial task. In the current study, grade of membership (GoM) analyses were used to derive “fuzzy set” depression profiles in a college sample for each of the five major racial/ethnic groups in the United States. The primary sample consisted of 22,778 European, African, Hispanic/Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, and …

Drinking With Those Who Mind : College Students' Beliefs About Secondhand Effects Of Alcohol And Related Intentions To Drink, Laura Marie Longo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

A number of prevention/intervention efforts aim to address college student drinking, a public health concern with dire consequences. Currently, prevention and intervention efforts do not address secondhand effects of alcohol (SEA), which include negative consequences (e.g., study/sleep interruption, physical/sexual assault) that result from other students’ drinking behaviors. SEAs are problematic because they impose consequences for all students and are related to lower academic performance and school satisfaction. The current study (1) created and evaluated the psychometric properties of a new instrument the Attitudes Towards Secondhand Effects of Alcohol (ATSEA), and (2) examined the influence of peer feedback on perceived attitudes …

Mental Health First Aid Training: Evaluating A Brief Training Intervention For College Students, Erica Sandtorv

Honors Program Projects

Background

Mental health literacy, or the public’s knowledge and beliefs about mental health, has been shown to be lacking; therefore, the proper first aid actions are not always taken to recognize and encourage treatment for psychological disorders (Burns & Rapee, 2006; Jorm et al., 1997; Jorm, 2012; Yap, Wright, & Jorm, 2011). This issue is particularly relevant in a university setting where mental health issues are common and students often rely on their peers for support (Hefner & Eisenberg, 2009; Kitzrow, 2009; Morse & Schulze, 2013). Studies have shown mental health first aid (MFHA) training to be successful in equipping …

Construction And Validation Of A Non-Medical Use Of Prescription Opioids Outcome Expectancies Scale Among College Students In China, Cheuk Chi Tam

Theses and Dissertations

Background:Non-medical use of prescription opioids (NMUPO) has become a clear threat to public health. Young adults (aged 18 to 25) have a high risk of NMUPO. My prior work on Chinese undergraduates indicates a high prevalence of lifetime NMUPO (49.2%). Health behavior theories propose that outcome expectancies are robust psychosocial determinants of substance use. Literature has identified the influence of outcome expectancies on alcohol and drug use. However, the role of outcome expectancies in NMUPO in China is unknown, and a scarcity of a valid measures for NMUPO outcome expectancies may be a barrier. Our previous research also found …

Longitudinal Patterns Of Depression Symptoms Among Emerging Adults, Sarah W. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

Research has suggested that depression symptoms generally decrease after late adolescence; however, there is increasing attention paid to depression symptoms among college students given the stressors unique to this time period and negative outcomes associated with depression. This study examined latent trajectories of depression symptom severity among college students. Participants were 9,889 college students who participated in the Spit for Science project (Dick et al., 2011). Growth Mixture Modeling was used to identify the presence of four subgroups of individuals with similar patterns of initial level and change in depression severity over four years of college, including Low/Minimal (55.9%), Decreasing …

Masculine Norms, Psychological Symptom Severity, And Intentions To Seek Formal Help In Male College Students, Zahra S. Shine

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Research has consistently found men to be less likely than women to seek help for mental health symptoms. Additionally, greater symptom severity is related to higher levels of help seeking, although this relationship is less clear among men. Greater conformity to masculine norms may help to explain the relationship between symptom severity and help seeking among men. The present study aimed to further research on men’s help-seeking by examining whether conformity to masculine norms would moderate the relationship between symptom severity and help-seeking intentions in male college students (N = 89). A multiple regression analysis was conducted with all …

Advising Student-Athletes For Success: Predicting The Academic Success And Persistence Of Collegiate Student-Athletes, April A. Brecht, Dana D. Burnett

Educational Foundations & Leadership Faculty Publications

Stakeholders at institutions across the United States are continuously looking for ways to improve the academic success and retention of students. We used logistical regression in an examination of noncognitive, cognitive, and demographic factors as predictors of academic success and retention of Division I first-year student-athletes. The results indicated that high school GPA is the best predictor for academic success. The Transition to College Inventory index, self-confidence, institutional commitment, and independent activity focus can be used in the prediction of academic success. Retention was most accurately predicted by students' first-year cumulative GPA. University advisors can use the results of this …

Social Jetlag, Depressive Symptoms, And Longitudinal Outcomes In College Students, Morgan P. Reid

Theses and Dissertations

Social jetlag refers to the chronic shift in sleep timing between work and free days and has been associated with a variety of negative physical and psychological outcomes. Existing research on social jetlag has relied heavily on cross-sectional studies, preventing researchers and practitioners from assessing the effects of social jetlag over time. The current study used longitudinal data to explore the directionality of the association between social jetlag and depressive symptoms as well as the longitudinal associations between social jetlag, academic performance, and wellbeing in college students. Gender and race were also assessed as potential moderators of these associations. Cross-lagged …